sweltering

/'sweltəriɳ/

Thân thiện

The children seek shade from the sweltering afternoon sun.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Extremely and uncomfortably hot: Describes weather or conditions that are excessively hot, often to the point of causing discomfort, sweating, or faintness.
   • Characterized by oppressive heat: Implies a heat that feels heavy, humid, and suffocating.

Usage

The word "sweltering" is used to describe an intense, often humid, heat. It is stronger than simply "hot" and conveys a sense of physical discomfort. It typically modifies nouns like day, heat, weather, room, or city.

Examples

• Adjective:
  • We sought refuge from the sweltering afternoon sun in an air-conditioned cafe.
  • The factory floor was sweltering, making it difficult for the workers to concentrate.
  • They endured a sweltering summer with record-breaking temperatures.

Advanced Usage

• "sweltering heat": This is a very common collocation emphasizing the intense, oppressive nature of the heat.
  • The sweltering heat of the desert was unbearable without proper hydration.
• Used figuratively to describe intense pressure or a stifling atmosphere.
  • The sweltering tension in the meeting room was palpable.

Variants and Related Words

• Swelter (verb): To suffer from or be oppressed by intense heat.
  • The passengers sweltered on the stationary train for hours.
• Swelteringly (adverb): In an extremely hot manner.
  • The day was swelteringly humid.

Synonyms

• Scorching: Intensely hot, often implying a dry heat.
• Blistering: Extremely hot, capable of causing blisters.
• Oppressive: Unpleasantly overwhelming, often used for humid heat.
• Sultry: Hot and humid in a way that feels heavy (can also have a romantic connotation).

Antonyms

• Frigid: Very cold in temperature.
• Freezing: Extremely cold.
• Chilly: Unpleasantly cool.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "Sweltering in the heat": A common phrase describing the experience of enduring very hot conditions.
  • The entire city was sweltering in the heat of the heatwave.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. excessively hot and humid or marked by sweating and faintness
   • a sweltering room
   • sweltering athletes

Từ đồng nghĩa

• sweltry